1997: "Pentagon plans to cut 20,000 jobs at NSA, 23 other agencies, offices"

[Blue_Tires]

Pentagon plans to cut 20,000 jobs at NSA, 23 other agencies, offices Action part of bid to drop 150,000 to 175,000 workers from defense payroll

WASHINGTON -- A sweeping plan to restructure the Defense Department calls for a total of 20,000 jobs to be cut from two dozen offices and agencies, including the Fort Meade-based National Security Agency, the largest employer in Maryland.

The Pentagon's plan, called the Quadrennial Defense Review and scheduled for release next week, would cut about 18,000 civilian and 2,000 military jobs at agencies that include NSA and the Defense Intelligence Agency, as well as field activities such as the POW/MIA office. The job reductions are to be completed by 2003, defense sources said.

Even more job cuts at the same agencies are expected as a result of a task force named Wednesday by Defense Secretary William S. Cohen. The task force will not only determine where the quadrennial-review job cuts will be made; it has also been directed to produce further staff cuts and savings in those agencies' administrative operations.

It is too early to say exactly how many job cuts each agency would absorb, defense officials said. Nor did the officials have an estimate of the total number of employees at the 24 agencies.

NSA, an intelligence agency that eavesdrops on foreign communications and makes and breaks codes, employs about 20,000 at Fort Meade. Together with the nation's other spy agencies, NSA has already been ordered by Congress to reduce its civilian staff 24 percent by 2001 and is in the process of doing so.

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1997-05-16/news/1997136083_1_intelligence-agency-defense-agencies-task-force

Yeah I know, pre-9/11 world and all that...But do I have that right? Congress can bring about a heavy reduction in manpower and resources with a simple order?